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Irony from the greater fool

Garth Turner http://www.greaterfool.ca/ enjoys shooting fish in a barrel, with his frequent insulting diatribes about economists, the media, and realtors. It's easy. It's sensationalistic. It sells. It gets an audience. He enjoys bullying the disadvantaged. To each his own, I say. But when he starts criticizing Weyburn, he’s crossed the line. Super Angry

It's ironic that a failed politician from Ontario feels compelled to mock this prairie gem.
"It might be because of divorce or unemployment or job offer in Weyburn - three devastating life events." Me, I'm entitled to disparage Weyburn and there's plenty of grist for the mill, as I grew up down the road. But coming from a third-rate politician and pseudo-author from Eastern Canada?


Weyburn produced the Greatest Canadian of all time who also happened to be a first-rate politician. I don’t even see Garth’s name in the top 50.

Weyburn is the birthplace of W.O. Mitchell, possibly the country's greatest author, and winner of two Stephen Leacock awards. Canada's most prestigious literary award is named after him. I've read Garth's books, and while they're good, the Stephen Leacock award will continue to elude him.


The Weyburn Mental Hospital  was home to some of the first LSD experiments and origin of the word "psychedelic."


Bob Truman was born a stone's throw from Weyburn. Like I said, I'm entitled to mock.

This was just an appetizer. In my next post, we'll take a look at some of Turner's predictions.

Oh, if you're looking for a job, there's a link on here http://www.weyburn.ca/. You can also buy a serviced, good-sized residential lot for $54,000.

Posted: Thursday, August 26, 2010 10:06 AM by Bob Truman

Comments

dvrvd said:

If you start a blog war with Turner, you're going to have to spend your days deleting deranged comments from his legions of devoted followers!  

# August 26, 2010 7:39 PM

Bob Truman said:

Not much change in the Crash/Confidence index over the past 10 days:

Stats to Obsess Over

2010 compared to the historic average(9 yrs) for single family homes

 

Sales
(A)

New listings

(B)

CC Index

A-B

Aug 1-26

-35%

-9%

-26

Jul

-37%

-12%

-25

Jun

-35%

+13%

-48

May

-25%

+12%

-37

Apr

-19%

+25%

-44

Mar

-14%

+20%

-34

Feb

-24%

+3%

-27

Jan

-29%

-15%

-14

CC Index: The lower the number, the more likely we’re heading for lower prices

# August 27, 2010 7:36 AM

Bob Truman said:

dvrvd;

It seems that you have to read through more and more nonsense and whining to find the intelligent, thoughtful comments on "The Greater Fool." I wonder how we developed into such a culture of self-entitlement, where people spend their time complaining instead of getting out there and working to get ahead. Turner himself adds to the problem by blaming everyone except the individual.

A good case in point is his recent Journalism posting. Blaming the media for decisions which should be your individual responsibility? This feeds right into the present-day culture of victimhood. I'm a victim because the newspaper said....I'm a victim because the teacher...I'm a victim because I grew up poor...and on and on.

I have a theory that blogs such as his attract a disproportionate number of pessimists and depressing people. It's still worth the read, however, for the astute and perceptive comments which surface. -Bob

# August 27, 2010 7:46 AM

Will said:

I used to enjoy reading Garth's blog but have become much more fond of your site, and that of Mike. Local stats and local opinion are much more important. Much less clutter and much less folks screaming the same story over and over again. Garth himself is also quite repetitive. Not a real shocker, since there really isn't that much new and groundbreaking information to provide after a while.

I do agree on the media point though. Real estate has been pushed and pushed by the media like nothing else. Garth made a good point the other day when he said something along the lines of having lost our mind and treating shelter as an investment. From my perspective, the media definitely had something to do with that, but so did the government, and the folks who ultimately started paying obscene prices for real estate. Ultimately everything you do is your own choice.

# August 27, 2010 10:07 AM

Spence said:

People do trust the "experts" when it comes to major life decisions Bob.  I agree with you that the individual is ultimately responsible but you cannot disregard the influence of the media, the real estate boards, etc.  As a doctor, I fully expect to be held accountable if I give advice that shows a lack of due dilligence on my part.  Professionalism and accountability go hand in hand.  Housing professionals who give bad advice should expect to be held accountable.  

As far as that Greater Fool blog goes, I totally agree with your assessment of the comments section.  You have to have a lot of time and patience to sift through the responses.  I have been trying to read all of Garth's posts lately, but I rarely check the comments.  I disagree with you when you say that Garth blames everyone but the individual (the buyer).  Sure, he does blame the media and take shots at realtors etc, but I have definitely heard him slander his fair share of buyers.  I mean seriously, the title of his website, "Greater Fool," clearly describes how he views current buyers.  I really don't think he is trying to create a victim mentality in the minds of recent buyers.  He blames them too.  

As often as Garth has been wrong over the years, I totally agree with his forecasts for Canadian Real estate.  A further reduction of 20% off of todays prices (Calgary and Edmonton) by the summer of 2012 is my conservative prediction.    

ps.  I'm sure Weyburn is a fine place.  I am from a small farming town in Southern Alberta.  When people ask if med school was tough, I say, "not compared to dairy farming."  The cows taught me a lot of lessons, but I certainly do not miss them.  

# August 27, 2010 1:45 PM

Ben said:

I would have to agree, it is getting old wading through the endless crap to possibly catch a link to something meaningful.

And the oneliner come backs are..... well my 10 year old could do better.

# August 27, 2010 3:46 PM

Max RE said:

I've got a feeling you might be the next realtor on Garth's hit list.

# August 27, 2010 5:23 PM

sparky said:

Just looked at the Edmonton real estate blog. Sara has posted absorbtion rates by neighborhood. Are you up for a Calgary version?

I think that sounds like a job for Mike. -Bob

# August 27, 2010 11:31 PM

CM said:

@Sparky: Andrew Kyle has some interesting features on his site regarding absorption rates by community.

Here's a map of Calgary, showing the absorption rate by community for July 2010.

http://www.andrewkyle.com/mlsca/home_page.php?page=community_maps&map=1

Profiles by community:

http://www.andrewkyle.com/mlsca/home_page.php?page=community_maps2

It's too bad Andrew gave up on his blog, he had some interesting insights and seemed pretty balanced in his approach.

He's done some pretty great mashups with the MLS data, such as integrating it with Google Maps, the Walk Score service, community crime rates, demographics, etc.

It's the kind of innovation that one would hope Realtor.ca would have.

cM

# August 28, 2010 10:31 AM

James Harlik said:

Dude, you're a douche.

# August 31, 2010 11:44 AM

Calgary RIp off said:

Weyburn?  Isnt that where people from the 1950's live?  I had a friend of mine from Parksville who went there.  He rode his bike around.  He's in his 50's, balding, slightly long grey hair and medium beard.  Some people drove their car past him and threw bottles at him saying he was a hippie and to get outta town.

Though shalt not insult the roughrider nation of saskatchewan with its pontiac sunfire cars and godforsaken climate.  Even the real estate is worse overpriced than Calgary!

# September 2, 2010 1:26 PM
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